Not sure why every none is so intent on debating the value of Reed. Of all the holes and problems the Sox have, closer is not even on the radar because they're not competitive enough for it to matter. If the Sox had a winning record and they were fighting for a playoff spot, then it matters.

I don't have a problem with keeping Reed, but I wouldn't be opposed to the White Sox trading him while his value is high - as long as they got something of value in return for him.

Viciedo has NO GLOVE. He was picked up to provide power from a corner outfield position. He's a hole and a hat. Dump him.

When the season began, I thought it was too early to give up on Tank but I've come around to your opinion after this season. Tank has been here four seasons now and a full time player in two of them and has shown little improvement. He is approaching 1100 ABs at the big league level now and is 24 years old. We can't really look at him as a young prospect anymore. He has tremendous power but his refusal to shorten his swing is his downfall. As you pointed out, he has a poor glove (albeit a good arm though) so he has to hit to make him worth keeping out there. We need way more power production from the LF spot than we are getting.

Also, Hahn has been on record as saying that the White Sox need a more "diverse" offense next season. Replacing the free swinging/low OBP Viciedo is a good step towards a much needed overhaul of the White Sox lineup.

__________________
The very existence of flamethrowers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, "You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done." -George Carlin

When the season began, I thought it was too early to give up on Tank but I've come around to your opinion after this season. Tank has been here four seasons now and a full time player in two of them and has shown little improvement. He is approaching 1100 ABs at the big league level now and is 24 years old. We can't really look at him as a young prospect anymore. He has tremendous power but his refusal to shorten his swing is his downfall. As you pointed out, he has a poor glove (albeit a good arm though) so he has to hit to make him worth keeping out there. We need way more power production from the LF spot than we are getting.

Also, Hahn has been on record as saying that the White Sox need a more "diverse" offense next season. Replacing the free swinging/low OBP Viciedo is a good step towards a much needed overhaul of the White Sox lineup.

Agreed and next season is Viciedo's last cost-controlled season, he'll hit his first arbitration in winter of 14-15 and with Boras as his agent and his power numbers to date, he won't sign cheap.

IMO, Viciedo's done (barely) enough to keep his trade value fairly high. Hahn should get another cost-controlled piece for him and let some other team take the risk that he'll play well enough to justify the salary Boras will get him in 2015 and further down the road.

Avisail Garcia is a much better hitter, and would give us better all-around offense and defense in LF next season. Hopefully one of our myriad OF prospects is ready to step up next spring, and OF (and 1B) would be a prime upgrade position if the Sox decide to spend in FA.

Agreed and next season is Viciedo's last cost-controlled season, he'll hit his first arbitration in winter of 14-15 and with Boras as his agent and his power numbers to date, he won't sign cheap.

IMO, Viciedo's done (barely) enough to keep his trade value fairly high. Hahn should get another cost-controlled piece for him and let some other team take the risk that he'll play well enough to justify the salary Boras will get him in 2015 and further down the road.

Avisail Garcia is a much better hitter, and would give us better all-around offense and defense in LF next season. Hopefully one of our myriad OF prospects is ready to step up next spring, and OF (and 1B) would be a prime upgrade position if the Sox decide to spend in FA.

Agreed. Viciedo's numbers are so downright pedestrian, it shouldn't be hard to replace or improve upon that production and we may also be able to improve the defense while we are at it. If the Sox choose to spend some cash this offeseason, there are some nice corner outfielders on the market. Pence, Choo, and Granderson come to mind.

Though I put several players on the keeper list, only the top two are untouchable as far as I'm concerned (unless someone wants to make a ridiculously lopsided trade in our favor).

I'm hoping that our development program gets a complete overhaul over the offseason. We obviously (painfully obvious!) are not developing good position players to the extent that almost none of the young players cut down their swings with two strikes, defensive and baserunning fundamentals seem to be lost on too many, and our two young catchers have trouble catching the ball. Even if next year's roster approaches the entire season as a 6-month long extended spring training, I want to see signs of improvement in these areas. It might make signing mid-level FAs more difficult, but we have to implement a much better approach.

__________________"I have the ultimate respect for White Sox fans. They were as miserable as the Cubs and Red Sox fans ever were but always had the good decency to keep it to themselves. And when they finally won the World Series, they celebrated without annoying every other fan in the country." Jim Caple, ESPN (January 12, 2011)

"We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the (bleeding) obvious is the first duty of intelligent men." — George Orwell

I strongly believe a front office clear out should accompany the roster overhaul...the notion that those that have engineered this historically bad season are in charge of righting a completely sunken ship is bordering on lunacy...

I agree with this completely, but I don't expect to see any real front office changes as long as JR is in charge. Too bad because there are so many things wrong with this organization.

I agree with this completely, but I don't expect to see any real front office changes as long as JR is in charge. Too bad because there are so many things wrong with this organization.

People were saying the same thing about the San Francisco Giants in the late '00's, too, the team was great in 2002 and 2003 but had slowly fallen apart, capped off by back-to-back 90-loss seasons in 2007 and 2008 and the roster was full of overpriced, mediocre veterans like Barry Zito, Aaron Rowand, etc.

And then the same front office turned it around and won two World Series in 3 seasons. So, lighten up, Francis. It's baseball.

Nate Jones closed the game Monday night against the Tigers. Maybe this will be his future role with the White Sox. Perhaps we have seen the last of Addison Reed on the White Sox this year. If we can get a good every day player for Reed it makes sense to me to make that trade and have Jones as our closer in 2014.